Pondicherry - 1 day roundup...!!

Date :: 1st August
The travel bug had bitten us all and we were on a roll. We had the choices for wayanad chikmangalur etc. Due to monsoon chikmangalur and almost any part in kerala would be a wonderful place but we'd be confined to the hotel due to torrential rains. After a small chat we zeroed in on Pondicherry. The hottest place where you sweat even without moving a muscle. One would expect cool air sweeping pondicherry's terrain due to the proximity of the ocean but the humidity has the upper hand.

Booked SRS 10:30pm airbus with madiwala as the rendezvous point. All were on time and so was the bus. It turned out to be a new bus from Tata's Stables. The journey was very comfortable. The real test was beyond krishnagiri when the smoothness cease to exist. The suspension took the real beating when travelling over ~ 2 foot potholes. We reached Pondicherry by 7 and took an auto till the beach road and we started walking along the beach for about 20 minutes. Time to decide if we were to go to kalapet for booking one of the beachside huts for stay or to stay at a guesthouse about half km away from governor's palace. The latter was the one to choose as we were there only for a day. Checked in to Sri Krishna guest house and were ready in about an hour. Rented two pulsars for about Rs.250 each and we were off to auroville beach and auroville (Matri Mandir). The ride from ECR road to auroville is a beautiful one as you are covered by greenery all around. We didn't visit matri mandir because the vising hours were nearing closure time ~ 1 pm. The boys were hungry and headed back to guest house. We had lunch at a hotel nearby and off to an aftnoon nap. I headed out for a walk to shop for chocolates and cakes then headed straight to the beach. Sunday's scene at the beach is like a madhouse .... just too many people. With the three musketeers awake by 6 pm it was time for an evening stroll and lazing in the beach. Chats prevailed about the current job market and the need for EJP's. by about 8 pm it was time to return the bikes. Finished dinner at a chettinad hotel. Where surprisingly we had chettinad chilly parota and kothu parota. I (the veggie of the group) did the goof up of ordering kothu parota which actually was prepared with egg. With a cheeky grin I swapped with Geet who was happier with kothu parota. :-) I had booked the tickets for the return journy while the musketeers were recharging their batteries through the evening. Boarded the KSRTC Volvo by 8:30 and reached bangalore in 7 hours. Another trip added to my picasa.arsenal .... Yippeeee....!!!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lancersfx/Pondicherry

Summer Camp.....Reclaiming Yercaud

Weekly offs in common, the spirit of adventure, and  the ecstasy of appreciating nature is all it takes to hit the pedal to the metal and gobble up the makhkhan miles.

Here’s how it all started. As my offs for the week are Friday and Saturday,  Friday was wasted – basking in the balcony of my new quarters.  The same evening was dedicated for a rendezvous with friends. The uncanny presence of Kingfisher ignites the deep dark insides of the brain!! Or so did I think. I expected to be back home late night after dinner. After dinner I could hear talks of a road trip to Yercaud. Though no shots of kingfisher were taken but I certainly did feel the kick. First off, I got to convince my mom about this ( I could already see the rainbow that might unfold) and secondly I had to go to office sunday morning. I guess it had been a long time since the “Bull” from Bajaj’s stables had been taken by its neck and shaken to life. Sam was all set in no time. I had to return home to leave my loyal Boxer ( serving its notice period) because it’s no longer got the get-set-go juice in its veins.

We started from Jayanagar by 1:50 AM. The highway is always a treat and considering the fact that  there is no Toll fee for Bikes. What a joy it is when you glide past all those cars who stare at you thining “Hey we’re waiting in queue and so should you” ………and I’m like “Scrooo u” and Vrooom past the the toll in a jiffy. We reached the first pitstop on our journey just a little beyond the Krishnagiri flyover. Time for a breather and quick sip of tea to alert our senses. Calling…Rider swap. I immediately took over and the smiles just got wider. The open tarmac called for some good speeds but that was limited by the high beam from a those nasty trucks and buses. The 4 lane highway is definitely a boon to the night travelers. We reached Dharmapuri in about 90 minutes and stopped for a ‘leak’ and also our Gluteus Maximus heaved a sigh of relief. To give you a perspective of what a short break must mean for long bike rides.. consider this.. What does a Truck/bus/lorry do when they stop for a break after a long drive ………..CHUSHHHHH!!!!!!..... I’m sure you must be familiar with that sound but that’s exactly how we felt.

Next we headed to the thoppur Ghats and straight through to Salem. Another toll and a huge grin on my face…!!!!! Miles rolled by and we stopped a few miles before the diversion to yercaud for another T-Break and a Rider change. Sameer took over and it soon became clear that we have reached at a precise time to take on the Ghats. Beautiful curves invited some sleazy riding but we enjoyed every stretch of it. Could feel any loss of power in this long black beauty. Soon we reached the summit and now comes the truly fun bit of our journey. Both had to empty our tanks and our brains didn’t quite repond as it normally would. So my mind was ready to take any damn hotel/resort. Thanks to Sam’s patience I kept my mouth shut. After a search of all the major hotels and resorts there we found that all were full and booked well in advance. Holy moly.. the only option was to get to the Sterling resorts which has been constructed on the edge of the cliff so when you open the balcony door you get a breathtaking view. Charge for this Wowwiness – 2400 + tax. The lodge owner took so much pride in saying  Plus Tax as if he was throwing in a bonus with the package. It wouldn’t make sense opting for that because we would be staying for hardly 10 hours.  So as we stopped at another Home-Resort just at the entrance to yercaud and checked out a few hotels there and one of them was in the woods. PERFECTO… Time to empty our tanks…. After being eco friendly with nature we were happy to quench the thirst of two trees. Now we can search with empty tanks and idle brains. Just as the decision was about to be made to book the Sterling resorts my eyes preyed upon a Homely stay resort – The Royal Resorts in Nagalur Road. Looked good from the outside but we were soon laughing once we saw the room. There was a double bed and an upper berth. The toilet was more like Alcatraz kinds. Anyway, this was sufficient for a day’s stay.

Quickly refreshed and got ready for breakfast. Headed straight to Hotel Malar adjacent to Shevaroys Resorts.  The unmistakable aroma of drumstick sambar, dosas was refreshing to us  weary travelers.

With the tummies loaded we headed out to the Kiliyur falls but we got to know from the locals that there wouldn’t be any water during this time of the year. So we decided to walk down that path as it covered with thick undergrowth.  We returned to the lodge as we found no point in walking all the way to the falls and also the temperatures were rising. Time for a nap. Zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!!!

Woke up by 4 and it was time for lunch. Checked out a different hotel and god it was full to the brim. So we went back to Hotel Malar and to our disappointment there were only two options , Parota or veg Biryani. We settled for Parota and it was goodie good with the tasty “kurma”.  It was then time to visit the viewpoint at the “Lady’s Seat”. Ride to the view point was just perfect with a mild welcome drizzle. One gets a full view of salem city and the sight is best seen late evenings. We started the journey back to bangalore by 6pm and stopped at the restaurant Meenakshi Bhavan in Dharmapuri. It is known for its “Sambar saadam” Sambar rice. It turns out that it is available only during the noon. So we had to settle for a “Paper Roast” and “Chilly Parota”. Sam savoured every last bit of sambar so it was more like dosa was the side dish. Reached Bangalore by 11:30 and off to bed.  I hope to take on Kanyakumari or Mangalore the next time .... and I hope to do it in a bullet probably by June or July,....

Until then.. Adios.....!!!!!!